Electrosurgery, suction, and irrigation are three important functions commonly used during modern surgical procedures. In the past, each of these functions was accomplished with a separate, dedicated surgical instrument. However, it became apparent that there were advantages to combining some or all of these functions into a single instrument. Such multifunction instruments were developed, therefore, and variations of them are now commonplace in modern surgery.
An instrument which combines electrosurgical, suction, and irrigation features may be referred to as an electrosurgical suction/irrigation instrument. An example of such an instrument includes a handpiece to allow the instrument to be held by a surgeon, and an operational tip connected to the handpiece. The operational tip is used for delivery of electrical current for electrosurgery as well as for channeling fluid for suction and irrigation. A conductive electrode is attached to the distal end of the operational tip, for electrosurgery. In some implementations, a retractable, non-conductive sheath covers the electrode. The sheath serves to protect and expose the distal electrode. The sheath is retracted to expose the electrode when the instrument is needed for electrosurgery and extended to cover the electrode when the instrument is being used for suction or irrigation.
Some designs of electrosurgical instruments make it inconvenient or awkward for the surgeon to extend the sheath or to retract the sheath, or both. For example, certain known designs require the use of two hands to extend or retract the sheath, i.e. one hand to hold the instrument and the other to extend or retract sheath. This limitation is undesirable, since a surgeon is often holding the electrosurgical instrument in one hand and another instrument in the other hand during surgery. It is inconvenient for the surgeon to have to put the other instrument down or to have to request the assistance of another person in order to extend or retract the sheath.
Some electrosurgical devices may move the electrode, while the sheath remains stationary. However, such tools require a specialized corresponding device that interfaces with the actuating electrode assembly. The dependency on an additional component to make an electrosurgical probe function is undesirable, as the additional components tend to be complicated and expensive.
Various other shortcomings are known to be associated with current electrosurgical instruments.